This was the third attempt to impact the lunar surface with a Block II Ranger spacecraft. On this mission, just 15 minutes after normal operation, a malfunction led to the transfer of power from solar to battery power. Normal operation never resumed; battery power was depleted after eight hours, and all spacecraft systems died.

The first midcourse correction was never implemented, and Ranger 5 passed the Moon at a range of 724 kilometers on 21 October and entered heliocentric orbit. It was tracked to a distance of 1,271,381 kilometers. Before loss of signal, the spacecraft sent back about 4 hours of data from the gamma-ray experiment.

Key Dates

18 Oct 1962: Launch (16:59 UT)

Status: Partial Success

Fast Facts

The inert Ranger 5 spacecraft is most likely still orbiting the Sun.

The spacecraft was designed to transmit pictures for 10 minutes before crashing into the Moon.

Its lunar seismometer experiment was designed to survive 130 to 160 km/hr (80 -100 mph) impact and send back data for 30 days.

People Spotlight

Al HibbsAl Hibbs decided as a five-year-old that he wanted to go to the Moon. He did qualify as an astronaut, but his legacy is in robotic exploration.